Field of Invention
This invention relates to the safe usage of ride-on toy vehicles currently marketed to young children; specifically, it is a portable, novel track devised of individual sections that, when connected together in a desired form, provide a safe and functional environment for usage of said vehicle types and for use in performing other recreational activities and, when said vehicles are secured to track by the use of safety securement device, vehicles are movable and rollable while secured to contained area.
2. Description of Prior Art
Children's ride-on toy vehicles have been around for a long time and are currently marketed to children starting at age one. But, a safe place to ride them does not seem to exist. Today, most children ride toy vehicles on dangerous driveways and roadways around their homes, under Mom's foot in the kitchen, or on outside grassy areas where it is difficult to maneuver.
Fundamental to the concern of all parents and other child care providers is the fear that a child on a movable ride-on toy vehicle will escape attention or supervision for a period sufficiently lengthy to enable the child to encounter a hazard, whereby serious physical damage could be and sometimes is caused to the child. The concept of facilitating hand-eye and leg coordination and development while simultaneously somewhat restraining the child by means of such apparatus is uniformly recognized.
One possible solution is to circumscribe the area of activity of the child on a ride-on toy vehicle. This problem has been addressed by several inventors by limiting the occupant to a restricted movement while operating the vehicle, whereby said vehicle is either permanently attached or trapped in a concave base structure restricting any motion, but forward. Another solution has been to attach a single upright handle to the rear of the vehicle, whereby an adult can hold the handle and walk with the child as the child maneuvers forward; however, hands-on interaction by another individual is required, henceforth, both solutions, while containing the movement of the child, add greater restrictions which may frustrate the child learning to maneuver the vehicle, as well as limiting creativity.
To date, no really satisfactory solution has been provided whereby the multitudes of ride-on toy vehicles currently marketed can be used safely and efficiently, as they were intended to be used by the manufacturer. The present invention addresses the use of ride-on toy vehicles by the occupant thereof in a most efficient and advantageous manner, which has proved highly satisfactory, safe and enjoyable in practice.
In researching, no prior art was revealed specifically pertaining to ride-on tracks; however, several devices such as baby walker and track or ride-on vehicle and track combinations were discovered and are herein disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,151 to Mulcaster, January 1989, discloses a baby walker vehicle and track designed to restrict the infant's movement while he learns to walk. This invention is designed specifically for an infant learning to walk; the preferred embodiment of my invention is to aid young children in the activity of learning to push, pedal or drive a ride-on toy vehicle. My invention does not call for the moving vehicle to be completely attached to the track, as the baby walker does, by anchoring 2 of the 4 wheels to the track, prohibiting all movement except forward motion.
Heretofore, inventors have created several types of ride-on vehicles with accompanying tracks. U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,970 to Bennett, April 1957, discloses a bicycle-like vehicle for children wherein the front wheel is designed to roll along within guide rails which run parallel and trap the front wheel. This invention is pertaining directly to the uniqueness of a new ride-on vehicle, whereas my track invention can be used with many types of existing ride-on toy vehicles, thus eliminating the additional expense of the track/vehicle combined purchase; further, my invention allows the child to ride his own favorite toys and expands the effective age range by allowing for the usage of different ride-on toy vehicles as the child grows, gains physical ability or desires a more complex vehicle. Additionally, my invention does not require the front portion of a ride-on toy vehicle to be attached or rest in any permanent position relating to the track; therefore, the child has the ability to steer the vehicle, thereby providing the opportunity to learn driving techniques.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,318,958 to Murphy, May 1943, discloses a car-type vehicle and riding track. The track acts as a straight section of a roller coaster sloping down. Again, this invention is limited to the included car-type vehicle; and it fails to allow the child to maneuver the vehicle. Additionally, it is designed as a one time "amusement ride," rather than a continuous riding track, with no versatility in size and shape.